Proceedings and Register of Free Blacks is a census conducted in 1803 on St. Thomas. It counted and listed the islands’ free people of color. The census contains age, occupation, where the person was from, how they got to St. Thomas, how they came to be free, and other details. This census reflects the people of African and mixed African and European ancestry who were free in St. Thomas at the beginning of the 1800s, 45 years before Emancipation in the Danish West Indies. Some people listed are described by their level of racial mixture, including terms that are no longer acceptable to use today. Their occupations include bakers, seamstresses, carpenters, masons, seamen, cooks, hairdressers, maids, cigar maker, rum shop owner, midwife, and others. The places they were from include Africa, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, many of the other islands of the Caribbean, and North America. Some were born free, others bought their freedom, still others were given freedom by their former owner. Today, this census offers an opportunity to study the size, diversity, and occupations of free people of color in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas in 1803.
In this activity, students will use questions to examine an 1803 census of free Blacks on St. Thomas. Students will learn about censuses and discuss why this one from 1803 was undertaken. They will consider the themes of time, continuity and change by looking at the beliefs of the people during the time of slavery in the Danish West Indies, and consider how the development of a large community of free Blacks would have shaped opinions toward slavery. They will use information they gather from a map representing the 1803 census, and what they learned in class, to write an essay.
About
Primary Sources in this Activity
Suggested Teaching Instructions
This primary source activity includes the topic of slavery. Viewed as a sensitive topic for classroom lessons, teachers should consider their students ability to engage with the topic, give background information, create a safe environment for discussion, and be prepared to support their students’ questions and responses to the subject matter. Additionally, there are terms used in this primary source that describe race and people that are not acceptable to use today. These terms should be discussed prior to looking at the primary source with students.
The teacher can share the definition of the word census as needed. They can ask students to list the methods by which an enslaved person could become free, prior to general Emancipation in 1848. And, the teacher can share the information provided in the About section with students to introduce the 1803 Census.
Load the 1803 Census onto an interactive smart board using the link provided. If there is not a smart board, students can work in small groups at computers. There are arrows that allow you to move through the pages of the census. There are also thumbnails at the bottom that represent each page of the census. View a few pages in order to explore the census as a whole. After making general observations, navigate and focus on page 28 of the census. Have students make observations together of that page.
The 1803 Census was transcribed, translated and edited into a book called “St. Thomas 1803 Crossroads of the Diaspora (The 1803 Proceedings and Register of the Free Colored)”, edited and compiled by David W. Knight and Laurette de T. Prime. The pages from the book, pages 26 to 28, which correspond with page 28 of the original handwritten census, are included in this activity. The teacher and students should examine the original census first and analyze it as the primary source, and then the teacher can switch to viewing the translation in order to facilitate the discussion segment of this activity.
